1997 Easton, Shenandoah California Valley, Zinfandel ($20.00). This is a big, but not huge zin. It is reminiscent of the Sierra Foothills Zins of yore. Went perfectly with my strogy tonight. Explodes in your nose and mouth with all kinds of ripe fruit colored black; raspberries, blackberries, cherries, et al. Then you get a full bodied (14.5% alcohol) mouthful of spicy, peppery, acidic (6.6 gr/ltr) zin across your palate. Then, hold on to your pants, for one the most lingering finishes we've enjoyed in a long, long time. In other words, a great zin. It is ready to drink now, but has enough acid and tannin to improve over the next three or four years. Beware, wines of this sort, including a lot of old world stuff, will suffer under a negative parabolic curve for a year or two between the time the fruit fades and when it gets better.

This is a zin to enjoy now or in three or four years. It went so well with our Beef Stroganoff tonight, that we wish we had more to go with the half leftover. Don't worry, we'll find something.

Thanks for reminding me IK of this neat bottle.I bought a case of this in August of 2000 and after racing thru the first 9 bottles looks like I went on to some newer purchases. Opened a bottle for lunch yesterday and agree with your tasting notes entirely. Had with a simple dish of Bow-Tie Pasta with Fresh cut spinach on top with OO and Balsamic 20 yr. The wine married beautifully. WW

We recently received two bottles of the '98 in a mixed case. Popped one tonight, and my TN is exactly as the '97, if not somewhat better. Unbelievable! The price is up to $22, but well worth it. We had the bottle tonight with smoked baby back ribs that had been in the smoker three hours, turning once. While we were preparing the rest of the dinner, we put them in a warming oven, and basted periodicaly with Carolina Red Sauce (3/4 cup red wine vinegar, 1/4th cup lo-carb ketchup, 1/4 tsp cayanne, 1/2 tsp Lawry salt, ane 1/2 tbl sweetner; all whisked together. The sides were lo-carb eggplant deep fried in batter, and salad. Wonderful meal; wonderful wine.

Well we had the second bottle tonight with spicy meatloaf, roasted potatoes, and salad. I'm very disappointed. Why? Because, by the time I got back from the kitchen after serving, I found that my truelove had poured half the bottle into one of our new 24 oz everyday red wine glasses!!! Sigh!

Received another bottle of the '98 Shenandoah Valley Zin in their Fall Harvest Sampler Case. The price is still $20 afterall; it is the Fiddletown Zin that runs $22. One of the latter is still hanging out in the cellar. This one was super. We used it to wash down our Garlic Burgers in Chile Sauce: http://wines.com/ubb2/Forum2/HTML/000292.html

What a terrific zin for $13 and this one is their regular bottling. Brambly raspberry, dark cherry and zinberry with a shot of cocoa in the middle. Nothing candied about this zin. Long finish. 14.5% Alc/vol.
Paired with leftover Zuni chicken, backed potatoe and sugar snap peas. Recipe follows.

Glad it was a hit with you guys. We have one of the 2002 Amador County Zins in the rack. It is the $13 one; also came in the Fall Harvest Sampler Case. Incidentally, that consisted of twelve different wines ranging in cost from $10 to $30, totaling $238 in value. It cost $175.

Popped the '02 Amador County Zin with leftover Mexican Pork Roll last night. I would describe it almost exactly the same as Drew did the '01. That is what makes Easton/Terre Rouge a consistant producer year in and year out. Received another flyer from them yesterday, and now have to decide which ones NOT to order!

I popped an "02 Amador County the other night and was somewhat dissappointed. Thought it a bit candied, a little flabby, (too smooth for my liking), and not as good as the '01 IMHO. Flavor profile was very strong though and this offering shows good concentration and a very long finish.

We had an orphan '98 Shenandoah Valley Zin with an '05 drink date on it. We popped it recently (after '05) and it was at it's zenith. We think another day or two would have killed it! Still had some of that fantastic fruit kicking around, and it had morphed as only a big zin can morph into a memorable experience. Will have to start another cycle with these again soon.